baud

In engineering, a unit of electrical signalling speed equal to one pulse per second, measuring the rate at which signals are sent between electronic devices such as telegraphs and computers.

Bauds were used as a measure to identify the speed of modems until the early 1990s because at the lower modem speeds available then the baud rate generally equalled the rate of transmission measured in bps (bits per second). At higher speeds, this is not the case, and modem speeds now are generally quoted in Kbps or Mbps.